Men are much more likely to be OK with women going topless in public, though laws that make it harder for women to go topless still receive wide support
Across much of the country men are in a luckier position than women if they want to go completely topless, as many states and localities make it illegal for women to be topless even though a man would not be breaking the law by exposing his chest in the same place. This isn't true everywhere, however. In New York women are legally entitled to be topless anywhere where men are allowed to go shirt-free - meaning that on balmy days in Central Park you could easily stumble across a topless book club.
The latest research from YouGov shows that most Americans (58%) support having different laws on toplessness for women and men, laws which almost always prohibit women from being topless in places where men are allowed to be topless. Support for having the same laws for women and men is highest in the Northeast, where 40% of people support having the same laws, compared to 26% in the South.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, men are much more supportive of women going topless in public than women are. 54% of men say that they think it is acceptable for a woman to go topless on the beach - compared to only 25% of women. Women overwhelmingly think that it's unacceptable for them to go topless at the beach or swimming pool, while men tend to say that they would be more than happy with that. Men are women are more likely to agree when it comes to other places, however, with most men and women disapproving of toplessness at parks, gyms, fast food joints and on public transport, though even at these places men tend to be far more forgiving of female toplessness.
Full poll results can be found here.
Image: Getty
